Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/3/2020

According to official government statistics, the Muslim population of England has passed the three million mark. At the same time, the Christian population of the country continues to decline, and is now thought to be about fourteen.

OK, so I made that last part up. But still…

In other news, Virginia Governor Ralph “Coonman” Northam has filed a request for a bill that would remove the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee from the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Caroline Glick, JD, Reader from Chicago, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

USA
» Caroline Glick: When Will American Jewry Wake Up!
» Check Out All the Unhinged Celebrity Reactions to Trump Defending Our Embassy
» Florida Man Friday: Toe Sucker Sucks Toes, Details at Ten
» Former Green Party Candidate Claimed to be Jesus While Killing His Dog With a Hammer
» Iran Has Hezbollah Sleeper Cells in the U.S. Ready to Strike
» Joe Biden’s Plan to Fight Antisemitism: Gun Control, Hate Crime Prosecutions & New Domestic Terror Law
» Major U.S. Cities Ramp Up Security to Prepare for Potential Iran-Backed Attacks
» NYT Begins 2020 With Feature Story on How White People Are Bad for Existing
» Old Farmer’s Almanac vs. NOAA’s Winter Forecasts
» Rep. Omar Vows to ‘Step in and Stop Trump’ After Soleimani Killed
» Senator Josh Hawley to Seek Dismissal of Impeachment Articles
» Twitter Makes Shadow Banning Official Part of Terms of Service
» USMC Firearm Policy Updated to Allow Concealed Carry for Self-Defense
» Virginia Governor Seeking to Remove Robert E. Lee Statue From US Capitol
 
Canada
» UBC Event Cancelled, Debate Continues About Free Expression on Campus
 
Europe and the EU
» Brexit Derangement Syndrome: Pro-EU Newspaper Launches ‘Remainer’ Passport Covers
» France: Paris Police Shoot Knifeman Who Stabbed Three, Killed One
» Germany to Force Internet Providers to Hand Over Data, Passwords of People Accused of Hate Speech
» German Far-Left Extremists Investigated for Attempted Murder of Police Officer on NYE
» Half of Britons Want TV Tax Scrapped, Make BBC Earn Its Money
» Macron Not Only Undermines NATO, He Threatens the Alliance’s Illusion
» Muslim Population of England Passes the Three Million Mark for the First Time as the Numbers of Christians Continues to Decline, Figures Reveal
» New Year’s Eve: Youths Attack Swedish Police With Molotov Cocktails
» The 2010s Were the Best Decade for European Populism Yet
» UK: BoJo Aid Recruiting ‘Misfits and Weirdos’ To Shake Up Civil Service
» UK: Boris Johnson to Enter Crunch Brexit Talks With EU Chief Von Der Leyen Next Week
» UK: Report: Up to 40 Per Cent of Courts Empty Despite Rising Crime
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Powerful Contacts in Israel Are Protecting and Hiding Jeffrey Epstein’s Pimp Ghislaine Maxwell
 
Middle East
» CFR President Says “The World Will be the Battlefield” After Iran Escalation
» Iran Vows Revenge After US Kills Top General
» Iranians and Iraqis Celebrate, Thank Trump for Airstrike That Killed Ruthless Military General
» New Airstrike Targets Convoy of Pro-Iran Militiamen in Iraq, Killing at Least Six
» New York Times Journalist Offers “Eulogy” To Killed Iranian Terrorist Leader
» New York Times Published Story About Hypothetical Military Attack on Suleimani in Baghdad Hours Before Strike
» Outrage: Rift and Resignations Over Erdogan’s Libya Plan
» Tucker Carlson Slams Iran Escalation: “They’re Liars and They Don’t Care About You”
» ‘We Need to Engage, Not Isolate Iran’: UK Left Piles on With Condemnation of President Trump
 
Australia — Pacific
» Australia’s Bushfires Are So Severe They Have Already Burned Twice as Much the Land as the Fires in the Amazon Rainforest
» Australian Police Say Arsonists & Lightning to Blame for Bushfires, Not Climate Change
» Awkward Moment Scott Morrison is Snubbed by a Firefighter After Trying for a Handshake — After He Was Abused by Locals in a Fire-Ravaged Town
» Dairy Farmer on the New South Wales South Coast Shares Shocking Before and After Photos of His Farm Which Was Razed by Fire in Just 10 Minutes
» Disgusting Moment a Young Couple Are Kicked by a Gang of Youths as They Desperately Try to Shield Each Other’s Faces
» End of the Road: Holidaymakers Run Out of Petrol and Get Caught Up in Gridlocked Roads as They Desperately Flee the South Coast — With Bushfires Set to Strike Again Tomorrow
» Extraordinary Moment Thousands of Yungblud Fans Scream ‘F*** ScoMo’ During the Hip-Hop Star’s Gig in Melbourne — After Show Was Relocated Due to Bushfires
» First of 4,000 People Stranded at Mallacoota Are Loaded Onto Navy Rescue Boats as Historic Evacuation Begins — and Grave Fears Grow for 28 People Missing With More Bushfires Forecast for Tomorrow
» Four Revellers Overdose at Field Day Festival Despite Amnesty Bins — as 167 People Are Charged for Drug Offences
» ‘Like a Third World Country’: Hundreds Queue for Fuel as Supermarket Shelves Are Stripped Bare and Residents Say They Are Living Like Refugees
» Local Hero Saves Two Families Who Were Almost Killed by Bushfires in His Tinny Moments After Watching His Own House Burn Down
» Serial Rapist, 57, Who Drugged, Tied Up and Attacked a Teenage Babysitter is Freed for Christmas — Because Judge Wanted Him to Get Public Housing
» Teenage ‘Looter’ Is Arrested After ‘Breaking Into a Home’ Abandoned by a Family Fleeing the Bushfires and ‘Stealing Their Ford Falcon’
» The Face in the Fire: Dairy Farmer Claims to Have Spotted the Devil Lurking in Bushfire Clouds in Victoria
» Tony Abbott: ‘The West is Facing a Climate Cult’
» Victim, 21, Is Left Bloodied and Battered After Being Attacked by a Group of ‘Sudanese’ Men at a Train Station in Broad Daylight
» Woman Dies From Bushfire Smoke After Getting Off a Qantas Plane in Smoggy Canberra Which Currently Has the Worst Air Quality in the World
 
Immigration
» Hungary: Deutsch: The EU Should Put a Halt on Migration to Europe
» Italy’s Salvini Looks to Avoid Trial Over Migrant Standoff
» Quebec’s Immigration Values Test Now in Effect
» Trump Administration to Go After States Allowing Illegal Immigrants to Obtain Driver’s Licenses
 
Culture Wars
» 207 Members of Congress Ask Supreme Court to ‘Reconsider’ Roe v. Wade
 

Caroline Glick: When Will American Jewry Wake Up!

Was the machete attack at Rabbi Chaim Rottenburg’s home in Monsey, NY last Saturday night wake-up call enough?

Are liberal American Jews ready to accept the truth about anti-Semitism in America?

Following the December 10 massacre at the kosher supermarket in Jersey City, Chris Gadsen, a local high school principal shared an op-ed calling for dialogue between the city’s Jewish and black communities on his Facebook page.

Joan Terrell-Paige, an elected member of the Jersey City school board responded angrily. She began her response to Gadsen’s post by vilifying the city’s Jews as “brutes” who oppressed blacks by buying apartments from them.

Then she accused “6 rabbis,” of “selling body parts.”

Then she accused Jews of planting “drugs and guns” in the black community.

In closing, Terrell-Paige paid homage to the shooters.

“Mr. Anderson and Ms. Graham went directly to the kosher supermarket. I believe they knew they would come out in body bags. What is the message they were sending? Are we brave enough to explore the answer to their message? Are we brave enough to stop the assault on the Black communities in America?”…

           — Hat tip: Caroline Glick [Return to headlines]
 

Check Out All the Unhinged Celebrity Reactions to Trump Defending Our Embassy

Celebrities should put down their phones at night when they’re heavily into the wet bar. Luckily for us, they don’t, so we get to read their incoherent ranting and raving. This time the Hollywood crowd is losing their minds over the killing of the world’s number-one bad guy in Iran, General Qasem Soleimani. To remind everyone, Soleimani has long been known as a killer and was once called the “Wizard of Oz of Iranian terror” by the New York Post. He was responsible for the Benghazi embassy attack, and was in bed with Barack Obama.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Florida Man Friday: Toe Sucker Sucks Toes, Details at Ten

It’s a new year and the same Florida Man — only bigger, stronger, weirder, and with 33% more Tiger Blood at no extra charge to you, dear reader.

So join me now — won’t you? — on another madcap…

Florida Man Friday!

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Former Green Party Candidate Claimed to be Jesus While Killing His Dog With a Hammer

Maryland man Joseph Cryer has been sentenced to more than five months in prison for killing his dog. Cryer told police he was Jesus Christ and had sent the dog to heaven. Yet the story proves even more bizarre: Cryer was a Green Party candidate for mayor of Ocean City who identifies himself as “Joe the JEW” on Facebook and posted a picture of notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan.

Cryer was charged on September 10 with aggravated animal cruelty, a felony in Maryland. Police arrived after a woman reported screaming coming from Cryer’s apartment. The man repeatedly yelled, “They killed my dog!” and pointed to a residence as the female officer showed up, The Daily Times reported.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Iran Has Hezbollah Sleeper Cells in the U.S. Ready to Strike

The threat posed by Iran-backed Hezbollah sleeper cells embedded in major American cities has once again come to the fore following the killing of Iran’s Quds Force General Qasem Soleimani.

Following last night’s assassination of the Iranian military leader, authorities in both New York and Los Angeles announced that they were ramping up security in readiness for possible revenge attacks on U.S. soil.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Joe Biden’s Plan to Fight Antisemitism: Gun Control, Hate Crime Prosecutions & New Domestic Terror Law

Former Vice President Joe Biden told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Thursday that he plans to “fight antisemitism” by enacting new gun control laws, aggressively prosecuting “hate crimes” and passing a “new federal domestic terrorism law.”

The last federal domestic terrorism law the US passed was the civil liberties destroying so-called “PATRIOT Act,” which Joe Biden voted for.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Major U.S. Cities Ramp Up Security to Prepare for Potential Iran-Backed Attacks

Authorities in major U.S. cities are monitoring developments and ramping up security in preparation for any potential Iranian-backed terror attacks following the killing of Iran’s Quds Force General Qasem Soleimani.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted that the NYPD is taking “immediate steps” to “protect key NYC locations from any attempt by Iran or its terrorist allies to retaliate against America.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

NYT Begins 2020 With Feature Story on How White People Are Bad for Existing

The New York Times kicked off 2020 with a large feature story attempting to drum up outrage over the University of Wisconsin’s Homecoming Committee releasing a video which had a lot of white students in it.

Even though the video had many non-white people in it, the New York Times suggested the fact “virtually everyone” in the video “was white” was an indictment of the university in itself.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Old Farmer’s Almanac vs. NOAA’s Winter Forecasts

Weather.com reported this week that massive winter storms of snow, ice, and freezing weather have wreaked havocacross the Midwest and Northeast.

In addition, Weather.com reported that over 400 daily cold records were set since the cold flowed into the continental US in mid-November.

NOAA’S Winter Climate Forecast

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast in the Autumn, that warmer-than-average temperatures were in store for the country.

NOAA wrote on October 17th “Winter Outlook: Warmer than average for many, wetter in the North.”

“Warmer-than-average temperatures are forecast for much of the U.S. this winter… below-average temperatures are not favored.”

Given that NOAA predicted a warm winter, we have to ask… is there any climate organization that can be trusted to make accurate forecasts?

There is, and of course, it’s the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Rep. Omar Vows to ‘Step in and Stop Trump’ After Soleimani Killed

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) vowed to ‘step in and stop’ President Trump after a US airstrike killed the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, General Qassim Soleimani.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Senator Josh Hawley to Seek Dismissal of Impeachment Articles

On Thursday, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) announced on Twitter his plans to try to have the articles of impeachment against President Trump dismissed.

“Dems said impeachment was URGENT. Now they don’t want to have a trial, because they have no evidence,” he tweeted. Hawley added that in the “real world” if the prosecution doesn’t proceed with a case then it gets dismissed. “So on Monday, I will introduce [a] measure to dismiss this bogus impeachment for lack of prosecution.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Twitter Makes Shadow Banning Official Part of Terms of Service

The process of limiting a Twitter account’s reach, commonly referred to as shadow banning, has now been added to the company’s official terms of service.

The process of limiting how many people can see posts from a certain Twitter account is commonly referred to as “shadow banning,” and many (including the company itself) have claimed that it is simply a conspiracy theory by conservatives and that Twitter does not limit the reach of content on its platform. But now, a change to Twitter’s terms of service appears to give the social media platform the right to do exactly that.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

USMC Firearm Policy Updated to Allow Concealed Carry for Self-Defense

USMC firearm policy has been updated to allow off-duty Marine Corps Law Enforcement professionals to carry concealed “privately owned firearms” while on base for self-defense.

The change comes after the December 4, 2019, firearm-based attack at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and the December 6, 2019, firearm-based attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola. U.S. military personnel who were present during the shootings were defenseless due to gun-free policies that bar concealed carry on bases and installations for self-defense.

Breitbart News reported witnesses of the Pensacola attack noted the attacker had 10 minutes without armed resistance in which to carry out his horrific work.

On December 9, 2019, Breitbart News reported that installation commanders prevent troops from being armed on base for self-defense.

[Comment: Why only off duty?]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Virginia Governor Seeking to Remove Robert E. Lee Statue From US Capitol

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) filed a request for a bill that would replace Virginia’s statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in the United States Capitol building.

The governor filed a drafting request for legislation that would outline a process to remove the statue on Monday, Dec. 23, in addition to choosing a replacement for the confederate leader, Northam spokeswoman Alena Yarmosky confirmed to The Hill in a statement. The state has two statues in the National Sanctuary Hall Collection in the Capitol.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UBC Event Cancelled, Debate Continues About Free Expression on Campus

The University of B.C. could face a lawsuit from a free speech club after cancelling a potentially controversial speaking event at the end of January, citing “safety and security.”

However, a free expression expert said he believes the school isn’t stifling free speech, as The Free Speech Club is alleging, and doesn’t have a duty to host an event if it isn’t part of the university’s academic mission.

“The speaker has every freedom of expression right to express his views. This group of students has every freedom of expression right to find a place to hold an event to let him express his views. It’s just the university doesn’t have an obligation to be that place,” said James Turk, director of Ryerson University’s Centre for Free Expression.

Andy Ngo, editor at large for the right-wing news site Post Millennial, was scheduled to deliver a talk called “Understanding Antifa (Anti-fascist) Violence,” at UBC’s Robson Square campus on Jan. 29.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Brexit Derangement Syndrome: Pro-EU Newspaper Launches ‘Remainer’ Passport Covers

An anti-Brexit newspaper has launched a “REMAINER” passport cover for readers who wish to display their continued loyalty to the European Union.

The covers, launched as part of a new subscription offer, will be in the burgundy colour set to be replaced by the old Brtish blue after Brexit.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

France: Paris Police Shoot Knifeman Who Stabbed Three, Killed One

A knifeman who injured two police officers and stabbed three members of the public, killing one in a Paris suburb was shot by French police Friday afternoon.

The alleged killer was “neutralised” by firearm-carrying police officers in the southern Paris suburb of Villejuif around 1400 local time (0800 EST) Friday. Paris based newspaper Le Parisien reports the assailant attacked several people in a local park in assaults that were described to have taken place at random. French media subsequently reported that the suspect had indeed died of gunshot wounds.

Three people were stabbed during the incident, one of whom is reported to have died of their injuries. Police pursued the suspect through the park and exchanged gunfire with him, the paper claims. The man was “neutralised” by police during the chase, and two police officers were injured.

While the motivation for the attack is not yet known, Le Figaro reports a bomb disposal team has been deployed to the park, suggesting police may suspect the presence of explosives. RTL — formerly known as Radio Luxembourg — reports the “European” suspect wore a traditional Arabic garment known as a djellaba, had a bearded face, and shouted “Allahu akbar”, while noting police had not yet confirmed these details from witnesses.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Germany to Force Internet Providers to Hand Over Data, Passwords of People Accused of Hate Speech

Angela Merkel’s government is preparing a new bill that will force Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to hand over data, including passwords, of those accused of engaging in “hate speech” online.

Minister of Justice Christine Lambrecht, a member of the Social Democrats (SPD), is preparing the bill, which will force service providers, email hosts, online retailers, and others to give the government the usernames, passwords, IP addresses, and more of suspects, MDR reports.

Lambrecht was slammed by many over the proposal, with Hamburg’s data protection officer Johannes Caspar calling it an attack on privacy.

“The fight against the ugly phenomena of right-wing extremism and hate crime apparently acts as a door opener for a comprehensive expansion of state control powers,” he warned.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

German Far-Left Extremists Investigated for Attempted Murder of Police Officer on NYE

Police in the city of Leipzig have opened an attempted murder investigation after far-left extremists brutally attacked a police officer on New Year’s Eve, resulting in him needing emergency surgery.

The officers were attacked in the Connewitz district, well-known for its links to the far-left Antifa movement, on New Year’s Eve. Extremists launched fireworks at police, with a 38-year-old officer being rushed to hospital after receiving severe injuries, Deutsche Welle reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Half of Britons Want TV Tax Scrapped, Make BBC Earn Its Money

Half of Britons want to the television licence axed and for the BBC to earn its own money, according to a poll.

The survey conducted by YouGov for The Times found that 37 per cent of people want the BBC to fund itself through advertising during commercial breaks while 13 per cent said the broadcaster should adopt a subscription model where viewers pay to watch the channels…

Not only do a majority Britons want to see the end of the TV tax, but they do not trust the BBC, either. One poll from late last year revealed that 48 per cent to 44 per cent do not trust BBC journalists to tell the truth while another showed that nearly two-thirds think the broadcaster is biased. The perception is supported by studies conducted by Civitas in 2018 and News-Watch in 2017 which found that the Today show had suppressed pro-Brexit opinions in favour of Europhile voices over the years.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Macron Not Only Undermines NATO, He Threatens the Alliance’s Illusion

by Thomas O. Falk

Before each NATO meeting, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg sends out a letter to all member states. Prior to NATO’s summit in London this month, the letter addressed one member state in particular: France. France’s President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly criticized NATO and thereby undermined the alliance’s credibility that is crucial for its survival and peace.

What Stoltenberg Wrote In His Last Letter

With the words of the Secretary-General, NATO is outlining current issues, but also provide expected sticking points for the globally recognized meeting of the political leadership of NATO. Moreover, Stoltenberg writes about achievements in defense spending and calls for a clear commitment to the obligation to assist among the partners.

One sentence from his latest letter was particularly noteworthy, however. In it, Stoltenberg warns that given the challenges in the world, it was imperative to maintain a common and unified approach. Even though Stoltenberg did not mention him by name, the wording, aimed at Macron. It is his solo efforts towards Russia that Stoltenberg and the European NATO partners continue to be increasingly disturbed and, above all, seriously concerned about, particularly regarding the alliance’s eastern European NATO partners…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Muslim Population of England Passes the Three Million Mark for the First Time as the Numbers of Christians Continues to Decline, Figures Reveal

Figures produced by the Office for National Statistics show that Muslims are the fastest-growing faith group in the country — while allegiance to Christianity continues to decline.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

New Year’s Eve: Youths Attack Swedish Police With Molotov Cocktails

Swedish police in the city of Växjö were attacked by a gang of up to 15 youths armed with Molotov cocktails after they arrested two people for drunk driving on New Year’s Eve.

According to Evelina Olsson, spokeswoman for the South Region police, one police officer had flammable liquid on his clothing but none of the officers were injured, Swedish newspaper Expressen reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

The 2010s Were the Best Decade for European Populism Yet

The rise of anti-globalist populist and sovereigntist movements has been a defining feature of the past decade in Europe, from the Brexit vote to the emergence of new political parties across the continent.

Populist parties have existed in many European countries for decades but aside from some, such as the Austrian Freedom Party under Jörg Haider in the early 2000s, few have enjoyed widespread popular support or held power within a national government before 2010.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: BoJo Aid Recruiting ‘Misfits and Weirdos’ To Shake Up Civil Service

Dominic Cummings is recruiting data scientists, policy experts, and other “assorted weirdos” to shake up the Remainer-dominated Civil Service, saying “Oxbridge Humanities graduates” need not apply.

Mr Cummings, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s senior advisor, has long criticised the institutionalised nature of Whitehall, where, he had said in 2014, “almost no one is ever fired.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Boris Johnson to Enter Crunch Brexit Talks With EU Chief Von Der Leyen Next Week

BORIS JOHNSON is set to hold crunch talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at Downing Street next week, it has been announced.

The Prime Minister will sit down with his Brussels counterpart on January 8 for bilateral talks, just weeks before Britain is set to leave the European Union. It is likely the two leaders will attempt to steal an early march on the trade negotiations, which Mr Johnson wants to have wrapped up by the end of 2020. Ms von der Leyen has expressed doubt that the UK and EU can secure a comprehensive trade pact in the 11-month timetable set by the Prime Minister.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Report: Up to 40 Per Cent of Courts Empty Despite Rising Crime

Between 25 per cent and 40 per cent of British courts are empty, with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirming that it had cut the number of sitting days for judges by 15 per cent.

This is a result of police solving fewer cases and a falling number going to trial, accordingto data seen by The Telegraph. The newspaper also revealed that the MoJ had opted against funding overflow court sessions to clear up a backlog in the court system, with there being 30,000 Crown Court and 288,000 Magistrates’ cases pending.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Powerful Contacts in Israel Are Protecting and Hiding Jeffrey Epstein’s Pimp Ghislaine Maxwell

Ghislaine Maxwell, the “British” socialite who’s long been accused of serving as Jeffrey Epstein’s pimp, is hiding in a series of safe houses, primariily in Israel and the U.K., and is being “protected because of the information she has on the world’s most powerful people”:

Maxwell, 58, allegedly procured young women and groomed them to have sex with Epstein and his wealthy pals, but she has remained out of public view after the convicted sex offender’s re-arrest last year and his death in jail in August. She has always denied any wrongdoing.

On the heels of a Reuters report that Maxwell was the main focus of an investigation by the FBI into several “people who facilitated” the “dead” [ed.] pedophile’s alleged sexual abuse, a source tells Page Six: “Ghislaine is protected. She and Jeffrey were assets of sorts for multiple foreign governments. They would trade information about the powerful people caught in his net — caught at Epstein’s house.”

The source added of Ghislaine, who has homes in Manhattan and London, “She is not in the US, she moves around. She is sometimes in the UK, but most often in other countries, such as Israel, where her powerful contacts have provided her with safe houses and protection.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

CFR President Says “The World Will be the Battlefield” After Iran Escalation

The President of the Council on Foreign Relations Richard N. Haass says that “the world will be the battlefield” following a dramatic escalation in tensions between the United States and Iran.

Fears of a wider war are rising after Iran’s Quds Force General Qasem Soleimani was killed during an airstrike near Baghdad’s airport.

Haass warned that those who thought any war with Iran would look similar to previous military campaigns were being incredibly naive.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Iran Vows Revenge After US Kills Top General

The White House announced that president Donald Trump had ordered the killing of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in a drone strike at the airport of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. Suleimani was the leader of all Iranian military operations in Iraq and Syria. Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, ordered three days of national mourning and said that the US would face “severe revenge” for the killing.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Iranians and Iraqis Celebrate, Thank Trump for Airstrike That Killed Ruthless Military General

“As an Iranian, I want to thank you with all my heart”

Iranians and Iraqis are celebrating after the Pentagon, under the direction of President Trump, carried out an airstrike in Baghdad that killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani.

The action came in response to an Iran-led attack on the US embassy in Iraq.

Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force, a designated terror group since 2007, was despised by many in Iran, and by Iraqis who have been subject to a campaign of terror in their own country at the hands of forces operating in lockstep with the Iranian military.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had deemed Soleimani equally as dangerous as Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

New Airstrike Targets Convoy of Pro-Iran Militiamen in Iraq, Killing at Least Six

A new air strike has targeted a convoy of pro-Iran militiamen late on Friday on Taji road north of Baghdad, Iraqi state TV said. There were conflicting reports about the target and author of the attack.

The strike targeted Iran-backed Shiite militia leaders near camp Taji north of Baghdad, killing six people and critically wounding three, an Iraqi army source said late on Friday.

One unnamed U.S. official told the AP that attack was not an American military strike. The pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces claimed that the convoy was composed of medical vans, and only medics were killed.

However, other Pentagon officials told Newsweek the strike was a U.S. operation targeting Imam Ali Brigades with a ‘high probability’ the strike resulted in the death of its leader, Shubul al-Zaidi.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

New York Times Journalist Offers “Eulogy” To Killed Iranian Terrorist Leader

New York Times journalist Farnaz Fassihi offered what some of her critics described as a “eulogy” to killed Iranian terrorist leader Qasem Suleimani after she posted a video of him reciting poetry.

“Rare personal video of Gen. Suleimani reciting poetry shared by a source in #Iran. About friends departing & him being left behind,” tweeted Fassihi alongside a video of Suleimani.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

New York Times Published Story About Hypothetical Military Attack on Suleimani in Baghdad Hours Before Strike

The New York Times published a story about a hypothetical U.S. military strike on Qassim Suleimani in Baghdad hours before it actually happened.

In an article entitled ‘Hypersonic Missiles Are a Game Changer’, Steven Simon, an analyst at the Quincy Institute, wrote, “What if the former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Qassim Suleimani, visits Baghdad for a meeting and you know the address?”

“The temptations to use hypersonic missiles will be many,” Simon added.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Outrage: Rift and Resignations Over Erdogan’s Libya Plan

by Nidal Kabalan

Rage, resentment and multiple resignations among high-ranking Syrian rebel leaders and commanders have come fast at the heels of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unilateral decision to dispatch thousands of proxy Syrian fighters — with the possibility of sending additional Turkish military forces — to Libya. Erdogan is sending the fighters there in support of his ally in Tripoli, prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj, who heads the internationally recognized Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA). A major offensive has been gaining momentum in recent weeks launched by forces loyal to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army, who is quickly advancing to overtake the capital Tripoli and topple Sarraj and his government whom they perceive as a gang of pro-Turkish and pro-US traitors. Al-Sarraj himself is said to be of Turkish origin and his birth name was Fayez Fawzi Mohammad Agha from the city of Manisa, Turkey. His grandfather is also reported to have served as an officer in the Ottoman army, although such claims have not been independently verified.

Erdogan’s Plan Splits Opposition, Leads To Collective Resignations

The Turkish leader’s Libya intervention effort has rapidly split the so-called military wing of Syrian opposition factions, including some of the main Ankara-backed militias in Syria. Collective high-level resignations followed Erdogan’s unilateral move and selective dispatching of hundreds of pro-Turkish Syrian National Army (SNA) fighters to Libya without any consultation with their military commanders outraged some Syrian factions. A statement issued earlier this week by the so-called Interim Government’s Ministry of Defense and circulated widely over social media carried the resignation of all four SNA top commanders as well as those of three main hard-line Syrian rebel groups…

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Tucker Carlson Slams Iran Escalation: “They’re Liars and They Don’t Care About You”

Tucker Carlson was one of few voices on the right to oppose the United States’ military escalation against Iran, warning his viewers that the neo-cons who have been pushing for it, are “liars” and “don’t care about you.”

Tensions in the region are on fire after Iran’s Quds Force General Qasem Soleimani was killed during an airstrike near Baghdad’s airport.

The attack could lead to the United States being at war with Iran as well as Iranian retaliatory attacks on U.S. soil.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

‘We Need to Engage, Not Isolate Iran’: UK Left Piles on With Condemnation of President Trump

The United Kingdom should stand up to the United States over the execution of war criminal General Qassem Soleimani, prominent members of the UK left have said as they moved to condemn President Trump for the missile strike.

Soleimani, one of the most senior officers in the Iranian regime and the head of the nation’s elite Quds military force was killed Thursday night by a U.S. airstrike at Baghdad Airport, the Pentagon confirmed. While a Pentagon stated Soleimani was in the process of planning attacks against American citizens when he was killed, and had been responsible for previous murderous attacks, left-wing critics of President Trump raced to get out their statements opposing the move.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Australia’s Bushfires Are So Severe They Have Already Burned Twice as Much the Land as the Fires in the Amazon Rainforest

Since September almost six million hectares have been destroyed across the nation compared to the three million hectares burnt in the Brazilian Amazon over summer.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Australian Police Say Arsonists & Lightning to Blame for Bushfires, Not Climate Change

Authorities in Australia are working on the premise that arsonists and lightning strikes are to blame for bushfires that have devastated numerous areas of the country, not “climate change” as many global warming alarmists have claimed.

Since November, the fires have struck various regions of the state of New South Wales, destroying thousands of buildings and killing at least 22 people.

Despite the fact that bushfires are not uncommon in Australia, the severity of the damage led numerous climate change alarmists to blame the disaster on man-made global warming.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Awkward Moment Scott Morrison is Snubbed by a Firefighter After Trying for a Handshake — After He Was Abused by Locals in a Fire-Ravaged Town

A firefighter who has lost his home refused to shake Scott Morrison’s hand during a meet and greet through a town which has been destroyed by bushfires.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Dairy Farmer on the New South Wales South Coast Shares Shocking Before and After Photos of His Farm Which Was Razed by Fire in Just 10 Minutes

Robert Miller from the town of Milton, about an hour north of Bateman’s Bay, raced to save his herd of 1,000 cattle as fire closed in on his farm on New Year’s Day.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Disgusting Moment a Young Couple Are Kicked by a Gang of Youths as They Desperately Try to Shield Each Other’s Faces

The couple are thrown to the ground after several men dressed in shorts and dark hoodies repeately punch and kick them while they lay curled on the footpath at Evan’s Head.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

End of the Road: Holidaymakers Run Out of Petrol and Get Caught Up in Gridlocked Roads as They Desperately Flee the South Coast — With Bushfires Set to Strike Again Tomorrow

There were chaotic scenes on the NSW south coast and Victorian border on Friday morning as hundreds of anxious people hit the roads trying to get to safety before Saturday.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Extraordinary Moment Thousands of Yungblud Fans Scream ‘F*** ScoMo’ During the Hip-Hop Star’s Gig in Melbourne — After Show Was Relocated Due to Bushfires

British musician Yungblud has shared footage of himself leading 2000 of his fans in chanting ‘f*** ScoMo’ at his Melbourne show after it was relocated due to bushfire risk.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

First of 4,000 People Stranded at Mallacoota Are Loaded Onto Navy Rescue Boats as Historic Evacuation Begins — and Grave Fears Grow for 28 People Missing With More Bushfires Forecast for Tomorrow

The Australian Defence Force arrived at the the wharf in Mallacoota at 7.30am on Friday — just 24 hours before catastrophic weather conditions are forecast to whip up more blazes.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Four Revellers Overdose at Field Day Festival Despite Amnesty Bins — as 167 People Are Charged for Drug Offences

Paramedics treated the patients on site at the Domain in Sydney at the New Years Day event before they were transported to hospital.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

‘Like a Third World Country’: Hundreds Queue for Fuel as Supermarket Shelves Are Stripped Bare and Residents Say They Are Living Like Refugees

Evacuation orders have been issued for large parts of New South Wales and Victoria, in what has become the largest ever emergency movement of people the country has ever faced.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Local Hero Saves Two Families Who Were Almost Killed by Bushfires in His Tinny Moments After Watching His Own House Burn Down

Brett Cripps, 51, spotted the terrified campers stuck on the shore near their caravans at Lake Conjola on the New South Wales south coast on Tuesday.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Serial Rapist, 57, Who Drugged, Tied Up and Attacked a Teenage Babysitter is Freed for Christmas — Because Judge Wanted Him to Get Public Housing

Serial rapist, Christopher John Bentley, 57, who attacked a 16 year old babysitter was freed from prison on Christmas Eve as the judge thought keeping him locked up would be ‘unfair’.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Teenage ‘Looter’ Is Arrested After ‘Breaking Into a Home’ Abandoned by a Family Fleeing the Bushfires and ‘Stealing Their Ford Falcon’

A 19-year-old man has been arrested after property was stolen from a vacant house in the New South Wales bushfire zone.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

The Face in the Fire: Dairy Farmer Claims to Have Spotted the Devil Lurking in Bushfire Clouds in Victoria

Dairy darmer Craig Calvert shared a photo depicting a demonic apparition coming from the smoke of the fires in East Gippsland.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Tony Abbott: ‘The West is Facing a Climate Cult’

As the Aussie wildfires burn, Former Australian PM Tony Abbott tells Israel Public Radio:

“The west is facing effectively new religions like the “Climate Cult” that is going to produce policy outcomes which will cause people to wake up.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Victim, 21, Is Left Bloodied and Battered After Being Attacked by a Group of ‘Sudanese’ Men at a Train Station in Broad Daylight

A 21-year-old man has been taken to hospital after he was allegedly attacked by a group of ‘Sudanese’ youths at a Melbourne train station in broad daylight.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Woman Dies From Bushfire Smoke After Getting Off a Qantas Plane in Smoggy Canberra Which Currently Has the Worst Air Quality in the World

The elderly woman went into respiratory distress at 4.15 on Thursday afternoon while exiting the plane onto the tarmac which was thick with bushfire smoke.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Hungary: Deutsch: The EU Should Put a Halt on Migration to Europe

Fidesz MEP Tamas Deutsch says the key task in 2020 is to put a halt to migration to Europe.

Deutsch, the head of the Fidesz-led governing alliance’s group of MEPs in Brussels, told a press conference on Friday that Hungarian voters had tasked the government with preventing further migration to Europe and protecting Europe’s Christian way of life as well as Hungary’s national interests.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Italy’s Salvini Looks to Avoid Trial Over Migrant Standoff

ROME (Reuters) — Italy’s far-right League leader Matteo Salvini, looking to avoid trial for alleged kidnapping, has defended his decision to detain migrants on a coastguard boat last July, saying the move had been backed by the whole government.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Quebec’s Immigration Values Test Now in Effect

The province of Quebec led by the Coalition Avenir Québec now has a values test for immigration applicants.

Starting January 1, 2020, Bill-9 came into effect, which involves the inclusion of questions regarding secularism, gender rights, same-sex marriage, religious symbols, and other aspects of Quebecois culture during the immigration process.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Trump Administration to Go After States Allowing Illegal Immigrants to Obtain Driver’s Licenses

Chad Wolf, the acting Secretary of Homeland Security “is taking aim at new laws in New York and New Jersey that allow immigrants to get driver’s licenses without proof they are in the U.S. legally, and restrict data sharing with federal authorities,” according to a report from the Associated Press.

Wolf sent a memo within the department requesting “a department-wide study on how the laws affect its enforcement efforts.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

207 Members of Congress Ask Supreme Court to ‘Reconsider’ Roe v. Wade

More than 200 members of Congress have asked the Supreme Court to “reconsider” the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that created a right to abortion, though none ever existed in the Constitution.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

One thought on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/3/2020

  1. 1. Soleimani wasn’t “assasinated”,he was killed on the battlefield during active operations.
    2. He was in Iraq in violation of a 2007 UN Security Council travel ban
    3. He spent the last few days coordinating imminent attacks against American citizens,allies & personnel.
    4. As a result of these actions he was neutralized as an enemy combatant and declared terrorist in accordance with the UN charter Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC).

    Source: https://mobile.twitter.com/SallyTiger/status/1213189251535376385

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